Procedure and apparatus for stripping ingots from molds



9 Sheets-Sheet l INVENToRs Mde/iam? ascar M. Selm/Ze HTTUR/VEY Z. W. WHITEHOUSE ETAL March Z3, 1954 PROCEDURE AND APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING INGoTs FROM MoLDs Filed April 4, 1950 March 23, 1954 z. w. wHlTEHoUsE ETAL PROCEDURE AND APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING INGOTS FROM MOLDS 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 4, 1950 K 6 A," Mp

Z z a m n n n A a n n .Z .2

/7 1% Sclmlze g'shee'ts-sheet s vz. w. WHITEHoUsE ET AL March 23, 1954 PROCEDURE: AND APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING INGOTS FROM MoLDs Filed April 4, 195o March 23, 1954 z. w. WHITEHOUSE ETAL. 2,672,663

PROCEDURE AND APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING INGOTS FROM MOLDS 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 4. 195o March 23, 1954 z. w. wHlTEHoUsE ET AL 2,672,663

PROCEDURE. AND APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING INGoTs FROM MoLDs Filed April 4, 1950 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 TTORNEY 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 March 23, 1954 z. w. wHlTEHoUsE ETAL PROCEDURE AND APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING INGOTS FROM MOLDS Filed April 4. 1950 March 23, 1954 vz. w. wHm-:HoUsE ET AL 2,672,663

PROCEDURE AND APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING INGoTs FROM MoLDs Filed April 4, 1950 9 Sheets-Sheet '7 INVENToRs 2da/an in W/I'flehause March 23, 1954 z. w. wHn'EHousE ETAL 2,672,663

PROCEDURE AND APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING INGOTS FROM MOLDS 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed April 4, 1950 INVENToRJ Zelfulwt Kwik/mme By smr lJ'f/fu/ze March 23, 1954 z. w. WHITEHOUSE ET AL 2,672,663

PROCEDURE AND APPARATUS FOR STRIPPING INGOTS FROM MOLDS 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed April 4, 1950' INVENToRs Zaln Mrk/muse .B sfar/K kn/ze 3 .CW QAM Vtinue its movement.

Patented Mar. 23, 1954 PROCEDURE STRIPPING Zebulon W. Whitehous Canton, Ohio, assign poration, Cleveland, Jersey AND APPARATUS FOR INGGTS FROM MOLDS e and Oscar M. Schulze, ors to Republic Steel Cor- Ohio, a corporation oi' New Application April i, 1950, Serial No. 153,914 i claims. (o1. :z2-95) This invention relates to the renioval, or striping of ingots from molds and more particularly to la inethod and means oi ingot stripping by impact.

The invention is directed especially to the pro lem of removing ingots which stick in the molds in spite of the fact that the interior of the mold has been previously 'coated with some lubricant substance such as pitch, tar or sugar. The usual devices for removing stickers are ingotpushing mechanisms which act directly on the ing'Ot, 'using a plunger pusher which is inserted through the sinall bottom opening oi the typical `ingotir'nold and exerts force to push the sticking ingo't out the larger top opening. The exertion kof considerable 'force directly upon such a limited area of the in'got surface may deiorln 'the in'gct and cause it' to bind against the side walls of the ngot so that it is necessary ultimately to out away the -mold, thereby destroying it, in order vto recover the ing'ot.

An object of the invention is to provide method and apparatus which will electively and read ily strip ingots from their enclosing molds without damaging the ingot or without exerting any vforce directly upon 'the ingot.

A Yfurther object of the'invention is to provide a means wherein the removal of the ing-ot from 'the mold is performed by an apparatus requiring no'rno'vlng parts for the actual stripping operation.

Another 'object of the invention iste utilize the `force of gravity to effect the 'stripping of the ingot from the mold and to provide an apparatus wherein the stripping force can be readily changed.

A stillfurther object oi 'the invention is to provide 'a stripping apparatus wherein the parts are Separately supported from one another so that the transmission of shock during the stripping operation is minimized to reduce the vibration and wear on the several parts of the apparatus.

The apparatus and method of the invention provide a means for guiding a moving ingot-enclosing'mold along a path and abruptly `arrestingthe mold While permitting the ingot to con- For acomplete description 'of three fol-nis or apparatus vfor implementing the invention, reference is made to the drawings, wherein:

'Fig l1 is a side view with 'parts broken away of one form of the invention;

Fig.v 2 is an end view ofthe apparatus 'as viewed valong the line 2-2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal cross-section taken along the line '33 Vin Figfl;

Fig. `il visa detailed partial sectional View showe ing the relationship of the mold to the guiding means and the arresting means taken along lthe line t-4 in Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is a detailed partial sectional View taken along the line 5-5 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the removable mold-arresting means;

Fig. 7 is a sectional side view of another form of apparatus embodying the invention; n

Fig. 7a is a view takenalong the line lit- 7u in Fig. 7

8 is a detailed sectional 'view taken along the line 8 8 in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the apparatusshown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 10 is a partial sectional View taken 'along the line Isl-il! in Fig. 7;

Fig. 10a is a top view of the anvil takenalong the line ia la`;

Fig. 11 is a face view of the apparatus shown n Fig. 7 taken along the line II-II inthat ngure;

Fig. l2 is a side view, partially 'in section, of a tong release device for use in conjunction with the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 13 is a sectional view taken along'theline l3-l3 in Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 is a side elevation of an additional forni oi apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 15 is a cross section taken along the line |5-l5 in Fig. 14;

Fig. 16 is a cross section taken along the'line Iii-i6 in Fig. 14:

Fig. 17 is a side view of the apparatus of Fig. 14 showing two phases of the stripping operation;

Fig. 18 is an end elevation as viewed from line Iii-I8 in Fig. 14, and

Fig. 19 is an end elevation as Iii- I3 in Fig. 14.

The apparatus shown in Figs. l and 2 includes a pair of inclined trackways It, each adapted to guide and denne the path of an ingot-oontainng mold l I as the latter falls endwise along the said trackway, with the open end I3 downward as shown in Fig. 1. An anvil Hl is positioned in a sow block I5 at the lower end of each trackway il] and is adapted to arrest the mold Il as .the latter slides down the trackwayunder the force of gravity.

viewed from line position of the mold I I on the trackway Il! is illustrated in Fig. 4 wherein it will be seen that the lugs I6 are received between the interior plates Il on the trackway II), the spacing of the plates being suitably dimensioned for such purpose. The outer plates I8 and the inner plates I'I which form the trackway are positioned with respect to each other at their mold-receiving edges so as to form a concave trackway to cradle the mold during its downward movement. That is to say, the outer guide plates I8 are wider, between their opposite sloping edges, than the plates Il, so that they may act as stabilizers for the mold during the travel of the latter. The slope of the inclined trackway and the length of the trackway, and the spacing between the guide plates Il and I8 may be changed to suit the particular requirements of the ingots which are .t be stripped.

The guide plates of the traokway Ill are mounted and rest on the base 24. Rectangular notches 25 are provided in the plates I1 and I3, and are ldimensioned to fit loosely over square transverse bars 26 which are xed on the base 24 and are adapted to maintain the guide plates of the trackway in proper orientation. The traclrway Iil is secured to the base 24 by the bolts 2l which extend upwardly through the lugs 28 provided on the outer plates I8 of the trackway Ill. The bolts extend downwardly through the base plate 24 and the base lugs 29. A suitable enclosed friction spring 3B of high power absorption value is mounted at the lower end of each lug 2s and .around the bolt 21, so as to be held under compression when the bottom nut 30a is tightened up on the bolt. This means of securing the guide trackway IB to the base provides a sui'hciently secure footing for the trackway and at the same time does not allow any jar, shake or like vibration of the guide plates to be directly transmitted to the base 24, also no jar, shock or vibration is transmitted to the mast, from the base, when the impact takes place. Since the bolts 2l have a somewhat loose fit, laterally, in the parts thereby clamped under spring pressure, the mast structure constituted by the plates I'i and I8 can rock very slightly upon the bars 25, i. e. against the spring pressure which otherwise holds the mast squarely on the base 24.

The base 24 is supported on two separate concrete foundation piers 3i (see Fig. 3) which are not a part of the foundation for the other parts of the apparatus. It has been found that independent foundation piers are desirable so that no shock is transmitted from the other parts of the apparatus (and particularly from the sow blocks I5) to the guide support base '24. Specifically, the base 2t has a supporting bridge structure 6I which is suitably secured to the foundation piers 3l, such as by bolts 32. It will vbe noted that the base 24, supported by its bridge part 5I, lies between the sow blocks I5, and that lthe sow blocks and the anvils I4 disposed in the sow blocks are entirely independent and at no point contact the trackway I0, the base 2li or its supporting bridge 6 I.

The sow blocks I5 are so located beneath the trackway Ill that the anvils I4 may be removably positioned in the sow blocks in proper alignment directly under the guides I'I and IB. An anvil receiving recess 33 is provided in each sow block. The recesses 33 have inclined floors 3A so that the anvils I4, when set in the recesses, are disposed at an angle such that the upper mold-arresting face I9 of each is at right angles to the inclined edges of the guide plates I1 and I8 of the respective trackway Ill. The U-shaped mold-arresting face IS on the top surface of each anvil is slightly larger in contour than the inside of the mold, and a pocket, or opening 2D is thereby provided in the anvil which is of such size that there is room for the sprue or head 35 of an ingot I2 and is also of sufficient size to receive a part of the ingot as it moves out of the mold and into the pocket, or opening 20, in the anvil.

It has been found practical to provide the anvil with two working faces in such manner that by turning the anvil a new working surface may be brought into position at the lower end of the trackway. Fig. 6, which is a perspective view of an anvil, shows the opening 20 with thethree parts or legs of the mold-arresting face I9 in the upward position. By turning and reversing the anvil the corresponding three parts or legs of the other U-shaped face 3E may be brought into position to constitute the mold-arresting surface with the opening in the face 35 correspondingly sized to receive the ingot as it is stripped from the mold. By thus providing the anvils with two working faces that can be alternately or successively used, their service life can be doubled.

It will be noted that since the anvils are remo able from the recesses 33 of the sow blocks I5 they are readily interchangeable, so that anvils of various sizes to correspond to a range of the mold sizes may be used. The anvils are held in the proper central position in the sow blocks I5 by keeper plates 31 which are removably positioned in keeper plate slots 38, (see Figs. 2 and 3; the plate 31 being omitted, for clarity in Fig. l) The sow blocks may be provided with a number of keeper plate slots to accommodate anvils of different widths; for the purpose of illustration, two such sets of keeper plate slots have been indicated at each side.

Each sow block I5 is mounted in a nest of wooden timbers 39 which in turn are positioned in a separate concrete foundation 40. In practice it has been found that oaken timbers are suitable to support the sow blocks and to cushion the blow between the sow block and the foundation 4i). However, it will be appreciated that any suitable cushioning material may be substituted. Referring to Fig. 1 and Fig. 3 it will be noted that the foundation 4I) for one sow block is entirely separate from the foundation 4I] for the other sow block and from the foundation piers 3I for the trackway I0. Thus the several parts are insulated against shocks which might be transmitted from one part of the apparatus to the other. By carrying the several parts of the apparatus on independent supporting foundations, breakage in the various parts of the stripper due to shock is avoided. Each sow block is provided with lugs 4I so that it may be removed from its position in the nest of wooden timbers 39 for the p-urposes of replacing the sow block or the supporting timbers.

The operation of the stripper may be described as follows:

An ingot-containing mold II having an open end I3 through which the ingot is removable (when freed from tight engagement) is inverted so that the open end is downward and the mold is lifted by a crane or other suitable means tothe upper end of the inclined trackway ID, the dotted line position shown in Fig. l. Simply by way of illustration, the ingot may be steel, having a weight which islimited only by the size of the-apgenerally'- upwarxzll and outward yabove 'the trackparatus as built; for example, with oneparticu ways-I0, respectively. The trips are mounted so .the outer plates I8. The crane thereafter resupported yin the full line position, i. e. against leases the mold I I and it slides down the-trackdropping lbelow such position, by the fence or Way I0 by the force of gravity, gaining momenguard portions 5| on the bracket 46.

tum during its slide. At the lower end of the Thetong release device may be employed with trackway IB the mold II strikes the arresting face a tong orcrane arrangement such as shown .in 1.9 of the anvil which suddenly stops the mold. Figs. l2 and 13 wherein the tong membersv52 are The ingot I2 in the mold, being above the open- 2g pivoted'centrally at 52o; to a fulcrum bracket or ing in the anvil, is not arrested by the anvil cross-piece 55, the upper arms 55 of the tongs face I9. The shock of the mold striking the anhaving rollers 5'! journalled in the upper ends vil and the inertia of movement of the ingot jars thereof. The rollers 5l' run in slopingv keyway-s it `loose from the mold and thereby effects the ed formed in the crane mast or head 459 and stripping of the ingot. The ingot continues its oriented so that they diverge along downward downward movement into the opening or pocket paths in the crane mast 59. The top of themast 20. When the mold and the ingot have thus re- (indicated simply by the ring 59a) is suitably spectively reached the full line positions shown hung from a crane, e. g. inthe usual manner, in Fig. 1 with the ingot I 2 stripped from the mold on multiple sheaved blocks (not shown) carrying II .as described, they may be separately removed 39 tire crane cable, and may be moved vertically bycrane tongs or other suitable lifting means, in and in effect independently of the tongs 5 2 and preparation for another stripping operation. the fulcrum bracket b5 except to the extent that It will be noted that with the two inclined the latter parts are caused to move to an entraokways I0 shown in Fig. 1 and the two anvils position. disposed at the lower end 0f each raCkWay it is when the 10u/'e11 arms 0f the tongs engage a possibIe to conduct two Stripping operations at which is to be lifted the projecting parathesame time, that is,'by releasing a mold-conened steel bits 45i! on the work-engaging faces taining ingot dOWn each Side of the dual trackof the lower arms di! exert a clamping action way. upon the mold as the rollers 5? mounted on the A With the double guide to provide for two strip- 40 upper arms 5G move ,along they diverging keyways ping operations at one time one side of the strip- 5&2 in the crane mast 59. The bits or pins k.53

per can be set up for one range of mold sizes and have sharp pointed ends which dig into the side the other for another range so that several sizes of the mold t@ assure a mm hold,

the stripper.

In order to facilitate the release of the inverted of work-engaging faces 653 of the tongs aidedrby ingot-Containing mold at the upper end of the the bits 53, increases because of the outward trackway I0 it has been found praotoal t0 aHXO movement of the upper arms as their associated the trackwaya mechanism fortrggering 01' Openrollers 5I move along the diverging keyways `58.

mast in the guide plates 0f the trackway l0 iS t0 55 As the crane holding the inverted mold be- PIOVde SOCke'blOCkS 43 which Support the foot tween the tongs 52 is swung into position glong- Opposed faces of the inner guide plates I7, as themold I! the load becomes supported on the Shown in Figs- 12 and 13- The mast iS alSO held trip d8 which is in engagement with the fulcrum IIDOSOH by the bOlt 23 Which S Dart 0f the bracket, The tongs are relieved of their load a. bracket 45 which, by Virtue 0f its Central 65 the latter begins its sliding descent down the sleeve-likepolton around the mast, is slidably trackway il). 'It will benoted from Fig. 13 that mounted thereon and may be SlllODOlted 'at Varithetongs do not engage .the lugs It on the rncld vous' levels by'a pin 41 that can be inserted in any because vthe lugs are utilized as guidingmeans one of several transverse holes 48 in the mast. for the mold in its sliding descent along vthe Thus the bracket Call be adjusted in Vertical 'trackway I 0. It has been found desirable to pick position by moving it up or down and locating the up the mold on the outboard side of the vertical pin 41 in the correspondingly selected hole 48. central axis as shown in Fig. i2 sothat the mold The bracket 46 supports trip members or arms will be suspended at a slight angle corresponding 49 which are pivotally fixed in the bracket by pins to the slope of the inclined trackway IB.

50, and are arranged so that their Yends extend 75 It will .be noted that in Figs. l2 and 13 the 7 inner guide plates |1 extend slightly above the outer guide plates |8 and nare slightly outwardly so that the mold lugs |6 may be received more easily between the guide plates |1, to insure that the mold is properly centered in the trackvvay.

Another form in which the invention may be embodied is shown in Figs. 1 to 1l. rIhe appara-- tus includes an elevated mold-receiving platform 65 supported on a frame 65. Adjacent to and abutting the platform 65 is an inclined trackway B1 mounted on a frame 68. The platform frame EB and the trackway frame 6B may be suitably secured together by means such as bolts 69 and bolted to foundation pier 10 by suitable means, such as bolts 1|` Sow block 12 is angularly disposed at the lower end of the inclined trackway $1 and is provided with a recess 13 to receive an anvil 1li which is angularly oriented so that its mold-engaging face is at right angles to the inclined edges of the trackway B1. The sow block is supported by wooden timbers 15, or other suitable cushioning material in a concrete foundation 11. It will be noted that the anvil 14 may be essentially similar to the anvil Hl in in a plurality of positions. may be similarly adapted for removably supporting the anvil and although it may include sim'lar means (as in Figs. 2 and 3) of adjustable character to retain different sizes of anvils, the block shown has a groove 13a across the bottom and side face of its recess 13 (i. e. longitudinally of the trackwayl to receive a cooperating rib ita on the anvil 153, such rib being provided on all anvils, of various sizes, to be used with this apparatus.

A mold-receiving bin 18 is supported on a base plate 1S! which is secured by bolts Bi to a separate concrete foundation 8G. It will be noted that the platform and traclway, for the sow block 12, and for the mold-receiving bin 18 are all separate to prevent the transmission of shock vibrations through the entire apparatus. The mold-receiving platform Sii is comprised of vertical plates 82 forming, in part, a horizontal mold-receiving surface 83, and in part, a downwardly curved mold-tumbling surface 8, said last-mentioned surface being adjacent to the inclined trackway 61.

The inclined trackway is comprised of parallel vertical plates including outer plates 85 and inner plates 3B which have a contour suitable to receive and cradle the mold, as shown in Figs. l0 and ll. The vertical plates 85 and 855 at the upper end of the inclined trackway have a curved portion with a substantially semi-circular profile forming a hump IBS the end of the curve, adjacent to the mold-receiving platform, the curve forms a depression 81 with the mold-tumbling surface 8e of the platform 18 to cooperate in inverting the mold, as will be described below.

A mold-pushing mechanism 83 is associated with the mold-receiving platform 65 and includes a hydraulically actuated pusher cylinder 89 which is mounted centrally and pivotally at 90 between the arms of the bracset 9|, which in turn is fixed to the mold-receiving platform. The piston rod 92 of the hydraulic cylinder 89 is pivotally mounted at its outer end to the mold pusher member 93. The mold pusher member 93 is slidably mounted in the keways 94 cut in the vertical plates of the mold-receiving platformt.

A second mold-pushing mechanism is provided near the lower end of the traclrway 61 and inconcave transverse hydraulic powered devices cludes a hydraulic cylinder 91 which is pivoted centrally at t9 between the arms of the bracket |B. The outer end of the piston rod ||l| of the cylinder Q1 is pivotally connected to the pusher ram iiZ. The pusher ram |52 is pivotally mounted at Hill, libia, to parallel links |83, w3c, which in turn are pivotally mounted at |05, |05a to the frame 58 of the trackway E1, the ram being adapted for a reciprocal movement upward between the vertical plates of the trackway G1. While compressed-air-actuated or other driving means may be used for the pushing mechanisms, are described above, since they provide a desirably even and positive movement.

in order to effect the stripping the apparatus shown in Fig. '7 an ingot-containing mold |56 is positioned upright on the horizontal surface 83 of the mold-receiving patform b5. The open end |61 through which the ingot is removable is uppermost. The hydraulic cylinder 83 is actuated so as to cause the piston rod 92 to move outwardly and push the member 93 into engagement with the mold |65. The mold engaging face Ht of the member 93 is provided with a recess to receive the lower lug |08 on the face Wi of the member 93 may engage the body of the mold as shown in Fig. 1ct. As the piston rod continues to move outwardly it pushes the mold so that the latter slides, in the direction indicated by the arrow, along the horizontal mold-receiving surface 83 to the curve-:l mold-tumbling surface 84 at which point me is caused to tip out of the upright position. Thereafter as the member 93 continues to push the mold, the latter tumbles on to its side and the mold lugs |03 become positioned between the inner vertical plates 86 of the trackway G1.. The tumbling action, initiated by the pusher member 93, causes the mold to pitch over the hump Iil and begin to slide down the inclined traclcway 61. As will be seen, the mold is now in an inverted position, with its open end ie'i at the bottom.

At the lower end of the trackway 61 the downward movement of the mold is abruptly stopped by the mold-arresting face 15 of the anvil 14. The ingot Htl; which is not intercepted by the anvil, continues downward into the pocket, or opening provided in the anvil 14. Thereafter the hydraulic cylinder 91 is actuated causing the piston rod im to move outwardly and thrust the pusher ram |82 upwardly between the inner vertical plates H39 of the traclcway 61 into engagement with the side of the mold |66. The ccntinued upward and outward thrust of the ram 4&2 causes the mold to tumble from the anvil it and into the mold-receiving bin 18. The curved corners |||a of the intersecting legs of the anvil faces facilitate the tumbling operation, as do also the upper ends of the trackway plates HE leading into the bin T8, such ends being disposed (as shown) essentially even with the oor of the anvil recess to provide an abutment against and over which the ingot and mold may be rocked.

As the mold tumbles into the bin 18 it carries with it the ingot which has been unstuck but which remains loosely seated in the mold. Thereafter the ingot and mold, which have thus been tumbled or re-inverted so that they are right side up (with the open end |61 again uppermost), may be removed separately or together by a suitable tong lifting device. It will be understood that although the dotted lines H3 show 'the mold operation with usually continue just upon'its turning over into thev bin TB, it will (i. e., rocking clockwise as seen in Fig. '1) into a more upright position with its bottom resting squarely on the nearly horizontal floor portion l |4 of the bin.

If the loosened ingot is to be removed. separately the tongs the sprue, or hot top ||5 of the ingot which protrudes from the mold, and pull it out while holding the such operation being essentially the saine as one type of procedurev employed for stripping non-sticking ngots.

-Although the form of the invention shown in Fig; '1 requires the addition of mold tumbling pushers, it has the advantage that the mold may be handled by the crane tongs in the upright position (i. e., open, or big end up) is employed for casting, and it is therefore not necessary to go through a separate procedure for inverting the mold roth before and after the stripping operation as is the case of the form off the invention in Figs. l, :Zand 3.

A`r still further form in which the invention may be embodied is shown in Figs. 14 to 15. The apparatus may be supported by a suitable'found" tion or platform which, as illustrated in the 'gures, may include an elongated base plate 29 suitably supported, for example, by columns |25. Ity will be appreciated that, depending upon the weightA of the ingots and molds handled by the apparatus, the foundation, or supports, must necessarily be increased to give the proper1 support to the apparatus.

The apparatus of this dicated'in dash lines in Fig. 15.

The wide guide |23 is provided with a channel |3| to accommodate the lugs |32 on the side of the mold |35, as shown in Fig. 15. noted that the channel |3| is sufliciently wide to |29 are arranged as a unit supported atl their upper end by the pivotal connection to the shaft |24 to swing inward toward the fulcrum stand |22 until the back edges as the wide guide |26, and correspondingly, the narrow seat link |69 islonthe with the angular guides lil same side as the narrow guidek |29; The v seat links |38 and |39, comprising the mold receiving are maintained in parallel spatial relation at theirouter end by the spacer |40 and the bolt 4|. The mold receiving platform |31 is free to swing upward until its upper faces |42 and |43 of the links |38, |39, respectively, come in contact with the bottom ends |44 and |45 of the guides |28 and |29. The mold receiving platform is free to swing downward until t e lower edges |46 and |41 of the links |38 and and is bolted thereto by bolts |59.

A rack |5| is pivotally mounted at one endto the links |38 and |39 ofthe mold receiving platform by means The rack is on shaft |54, which in turn rotates in journals xedly mounted to the base plate |29 by means of the bolts |56. The rack ismaintained in meshing contact by being slidably mounted in the sleeve guide |51 which may be loosely and pivotally mounted on the shaft |54. The pinion |53 may be suitably driven through the shaft |54 by a source of power not shown.

Also mounted on the main pivot shaft |24 are the trackway guides |58 which are shown on the right side of the fulcrum stand |22, in Figs. 14 and 17, and also shown in Fig. 19. These guides are mounted on the shaft |24 on the outside of the 16 and 19, the molds, |69 on the mold |6|, as Fig. 16. Inside the guides |62 which have tapered, or slanted, upper faces |63 and are in line with the guides |25, onk the left hand side of the fulcrum stand |22, to form a continuation of the tapered guide faces |35 on the guide plates |25, as shown in Fig. 19.

Also pivoted on the shaft 24 is the ingot stop |65 which is located between the inner guides |62. The ingot stop |65 extends downwardly and has a horizontal bottom face |66 which is arranged to rest on the bottom of a pocket |61 pro- A wide angle guide |69 and a narrow angle guide |19 are mounted on the outside of guides |56. The angle guides are held together with the outside guides |56 and inner guides 62 and the ingot stop |65 by means of the bolts 1|, as best shown in Fig. 16.

Such as the lug shown in dash lines in 58 are two other guides lugs of molds,fsuch as lug of the mold |61, as shown in dash line in Fig. 16, the channel |12 being sulfcient to accommodate lugs on molds of varying widths in a manner similar to the channel i3? in the wide guide |28 on the left hand side of the fulcrum stand.

A rack |13 is'pivotally connected to the guides |58 by means ofthe pivot pin |14. The rack mesh with pinion |15. The pinion and is pivotally mounted on the shaft |16. The pinion |15 is adapted to be driven by the shaft |16 which may be suitably connected to a source of power (not shown).

' Y The anvil |68 is mounted on the base plate |28 on the right hand side of the fulcrum stand |22 under the guide |58. The upper face |18 of the anvil is disposed at an angle to the horizontal and at right angles to the upper mold receiving faces |63 of the guides |62 when the latter are in the lposition shown at the right hand side of the fulcrum stand |22 in Fig. 14. The trackway guides |56 and their associated parts are supported at a predetermined angle to the vertical axis of the fulcrum stand |22 by the ingot stop |65 when the bottom edge |66 of the ingot stop is seated in the pocket |81 of the anvil |58. The anvil |68 has an angular opening |68 in its upper face |18, as best shown in Fig. 16.` The sides of .the opening |88 extend somewhat beyond the profile of the line of the upper face |83 of the guides |62 projected on to the upper face |18 of the anvil |58. Thus the edges or sides or the opening |89 form a ledge |19 on which the upper edge of the mold |61, as shown in Fig. 16, will Ystrike when the stripper is in use but will not interfere with the continued travel of the ingot in to the anvil |68.

In operation, a mold |8|, shown in full line on Fig. 14, containing a sticking ingot |82, is lowered by a crane, or other means, and positioned on the seat links |38 and |39 of the mold receiving platform |31 in a substantially vertical position, the mold being seated at a slight angle to the longitudinal center line of the fulcrum stand |22. The sides of the mold |8| are in contact with the lower end of faces |35 of guides |25. When the `crane releases the mold IBI, the latter seats nearly upright and inclines towards the stripper slightly (as just described) to keep it moving tward the stripper in the event of any movement.

The pinion |53 is then actuated to cause the rack to rise, thereby moving the mold receiving platform |31 in a clockwise direction upward, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 14, about the pivot pin |36 until the upper faces |42 and |43 of the seat links |38 and |39 respectively contact the lower edges |44 and |45 of the guides |28 and |29. As the mold receiving platform |31 moves upward the mold tips inward toward the fulcrum stand |22 of the stripper to a position where the faces of its sides are in contact with the upper faces |35 of the guides |25, and in contact with the outer guides |28 and |29, as shown in Fig. 15.

As the rack |51 continues its upward movement all the guides on the left hand side of the stripper and the mold receiving platform, together with the mold and ingot, will be caused to rotate in a clockwise upward path about the shaft |24 until the point is reached where the angle of the guides will be such that the mold |8| will start to slide to the right over the peak of the fulcrum stand |22. This position is illustrated by the dash line in Fig. 17.

As the mold begins to slide to the right it will move over the rounded upper ends of the guides |25 and will become over-balanced, causing the mold, together with its ingot, to up-end itself and slide down the trackway at the right side of the fulcrum stand, i. e., in contact with guides |58, |62 and angle guides |69 and |18, until the upper face |83 of the mold |8| strikes the ledge |19 on the upper face |18 of the anvil adjacent the angular opening |80 in the anvil |68. The sudden impact of the mold striking the ledge |19 on the upper face of the anvil stops the travel of the mold |8| and due to the momentum and shock of the impact the ingot |82 is caused to `edges |45 and downward movement through the angular opening |88 in the anvil face until the top |84 of the ingot |82 contacts the upper face |85 of the ingot stop |65. Thus the stripping is effected.

The connection of the ingot stop |65 with the shaft |24 is sufficiently loose so that the horizontal bottom face |66 of the ingot stop is well seated in the bottom of the pocket |81 in the anvil and the major portion of the shock of the ingot striking the ingot stop is transferred to the pocket of the anvil and relatively little shock is transferred to the fulcrum strand |22 through the shaft |24.

After the stripping has been effected the mold with the ingot loosely disposed therein is returned to its original position on the mold receiving platform |31 in the following manner:

The pinion |15 is actuated to cause the rack |13 to rise, lifting the lower ends of the trackway guides |58, the ingot stop |65 and their associated parts upward in a counterclockwise motion, carrying the mold and ingot with them to the position shown in full line on the right hand side of the fulcrum stand in Fig. 1'1. When the guides |58 and their associated parts, and the ingot stop |65 have been elevated to the point shown, which is an angle above the horizontal at which friction is overcome, the mold and the ingot slide to the left across the apex of the fulcrum stand |22. In the meantime the rack |5| has been lowered to position the guides |25 and their associated parts in the position shown by the full line in Fig. 1'1 so as to receive the mold as the latter passes over the fulcrum stand from right to left, the base of the mold seating itself against the upper faces |42 and |43 of the mold receiving platform |31 with a minimum of impact. Thereafter the rack |5| is lowered so that the guides |25 move down into their initial angular position against the stop |34 and the outer end of the mold receiving platform continues its downward movement until the lower |81 of the mold receiving platform contact the upper face |48 of the support |49, the initial position of said platform.

The mold, containing the loosened ingot, is thereby returned to the nearly upright position shown in Fig. 14 and may be removed readily by a crane, either together with the ingot, or separately, after removing the ingot. After the platform has been cleared, and the rack |13 has been lowered to restore the trackway |58 and its associated parts to the position shown in Fig. 14, the apparatus is prepared to receive another mold for a new stripping cycle.

In the event that the first stripping operation does not succeed in loosening the ingot from the mold, the mold may be returned to the initial position (as shown in Fig. 14) and the stripping operation repeated until the ingot has been loosened.

As noted above, in the stripping of heavy ingots with apparatus of the form described in Figs. 14 to 19, a substantial foundation, such as that shown in the first two described forms, is used to support the apparatus and the part of the foundation under the anvil is provided with wooden timbers to absorb the shock of the stripping operation. Furthermore, it will be understood that although the raising mechanisms illustrated in the drawings and described above were of the rack and pinion type, they may be replaced by hydraulic cylinders or other suitable raising means without changing the operation of the free itself from the mold and to continue its stripper.

. 'loading' or agotados Vdescribed form ofY apparatus'hasV certain particulary advantages. It is capable of processing a large range ofv sizes or shapes of molds without any change of parts or adjustments. The Wide adaptability ofthe apparatusto molds of differ-'- ent sizes' and shapes results from the fact that the molds are cradled in the slideways with two sides of the molds in contact with the thel guides and with one corner between the them strike the anvil in the same relative Way the one anvilV is capable of accommodating the various sizes of molds. Fora clearer understanding of the Wide adaptapparatus, reference is made' to F1g..16 wherein it will be noted thatv the sides of the mold IGI (shown in dash contact with the faces ISS ofthe and the associated parts of guides guides. or both Wardly of the sides of the mold can extend outfrom the angular guideway Without ef* the position of the mold in the guideway.

trackway of guides 58 and' their associated anis such that itwll eifectively arrest the Various sizes of molds but is sui'ciently narrow so that it does not interfere with the passage of ingots into the angular opening 189 when the molds being stripped have relatively thin walls.

In the form of the apparatus shown in Figs.

14v to 19, a further advantage that no sepa-L shocks incident 'to said An additional.v advantage of the apparatus is that,y due tothe low position of the loading seat or; mold receiving platform i3?, in relation` to the base plate 920,7110 great height is necessary stripping operation,

'0115 the stripper, and therefore the apparatus can .Y

buildings having low head room.

Furthermore, as noted above, if the ineot does notloosen from the mold with the rst impact, the` moldA` and. the' ngot can, be vreturnerzl tothe starting side 'of lthe apparatus and with equal success.

The three forms described and shown in the been presented as illustrations and from the scope What is claimed is:

1'. ApparatusV for removing an ingot from a mold which surrounds the ingot and which has an openv movable, comprising a downwardly inclined nioldsupporting trackway doWnwardlyl inclined at Ya mold-supporting angle for guiding and supporting a moving meot-containing mold along clined from the vertical at an angle suicient for slidably supporting and guiding the mold as it moves downward along said path.

2. Apparatus for stripping an ingot from a mold havingT an open end through which the ingot is removable, comprising trackWa-y means providing a mold-receiving area and a moldguiding path inclined from the vertical and through, a second mold turning bling said mold, out of. its position the traclrway abutting the anvil.

' 4;, Apparatus for at the end of it to slide down said trackway, an anvil disposed at the lower end of said trackway to arrest the downward movement of the mold, said anvil having an opening therein sized to permit the continued downward travel of the ingot therethrough, mold receiving means below the anvil, including structure to support the mold in upright position, and means shiftable to engage the mold at the anvil, for pushing the mold over into said receiving means and into re-inverted position.

5. An apparatus for stripping an ingot from a mold, comprising, in combination, a trackway downwardly inclined at a mold-supporting angle, a mold receiving platform disposed adjacent one end of the trackway, a mold arresting anvil disposed at the other end of the trackway, mold tumbling means associated with said platform to engage a mold in upright position on the platform and invert it onto said trackway and into sliding engagement therewith, said anvil being shaped to arrest the sliding movement of the mold while permitting the ingot to continue its movement, and a second mold tumbling means to remove the mold from its position adjacent the anvil means, said rst mold tumbling means comprising structure between the platform and the trackway over which the mold may be rocked, and means for pushing the mold to and over said structure.

6. An ingot stripping apparatus, comprising a downwardly inclined mold-supporting trackway adapted to guide and define the path of an ingoia-containing mold as it slides downwardly endwise, said trackway being inclined from the vertical at an angle to slidably support the mold, an anvil disposed in said path adjacent the lower end of the trackway having a mold arresting face adapted to abut the end of the falling mold, said anvil having an opening larger than the crosssection of the ingot and disposed to permit the passage of the ingot therein when the mold has been intercepted by the anvil face, and said trackway being formed to define a longitudinal groove to receive projections from the side of the mold.

7. An apparatus for stripping an ingot from a mold having an open end through which the ingot is removable comprising, in combination. an inclined trackway defining a path along which an inverted mold may wise with its open end in advance, an anvil disposed in said path having a mold arresting face with an opening therein sized to permit the continued movement of the ingot therethrough when the mold is stopped, and block means removably supporting said anvil with its said face in moldarresting position, said block means defining a recess of adjustable size adapted selectively to receive and retain anvils of a plurality of sizes for arresting molds of corresponding different sizes, said trackway being inclined from the vertical at an angle for supporting the side of the mold in its descent, and said mold-arresting face of the anvil being disposed at right angles to the profile of the trackway for mold-arresting contact with open end of the mold.

8. An apparatus for stripping ingots from molds comprising a trackway inclined from the vertical at an angle for receiving in sliding supporting engagement, an inverted mold containing an ingot, a mold arresting anvil disposed at the lower end of the trackway adapted to intercept the downwardly sliding mold, said anvil having an opening therein to permit the continued downbe moved by gravity, endward movement of the ingot contained in said mold when the downward movement of the mold has been arrested, and means for removably supporting Said anvil, said anvil having a plurality of mold-arresting faces defining ingot-receiving entrances to said opening whereby each of said faces is adapted to intercept a mold while permitting movement of the ingot into said opening, the mold-arresting faces being U -shaped with the open ends of adjoining U-shaped faces intersecting to define the ingot-receiving opening, and said supporting means adapted to receive the anvil selectively in each of a plurality of positions respectively locating its said faces in mold-interc'epting relation.

9. An ingot-stripping apparatus, in combination, a trackway inclined at a mold-supporting angle from the vertical for guiding and supporting an ingot-containing mold as it falls endwise along a downwardly sloping path deiined by the tracliway, an anvil disposed alongside the trackway and in the path of such falling mold to arrest the mold and permit the continued fall of the ingot, and individua-l supporting means for said trackway and for said anvil, separately supporting the same to inhibit transmission of the impact shock of the mold striking the anvil, to the inclined traclrway.

10. An apparatus for stripping an ingot from a mold, comprising a downwardly inclined moldsupporting tracliway adapted to receive in sliding and supporting engagement an inverted mold containing an ingot, a mold arresting anvil disposed at the lower end of the trackway adapted to intercept the downwardly sliding mold, said anvil defining an opening to permit the continued downward movement of the ingot contained in said mold when the downward move'- ment of the mold has been arrested, said opening being angular so that the adjacent edges of the upper faces of the anvil contact the upper ends of two sides of the mold as the latter moves into engagement with the face of the anvil, said trackwa-y being inclined from the vertical at an angle for supporting the mold while it slides downward, and the upper faces of the anvil being disposed at right angles to the inclined trackway.

l1. An apparatus for stripping an ingot vfrom a mold, comprising a trackway downwardly inclined at a mold-supporting angle and a moldreceiving platform disposed adjacent one end of said trackway, a mold-arresting anvil disposed at the other end of the trackway, means for inverting said mold-receiving platform for inverting a mold onto said trackway `and into sliding engagement therewith, said anvil being shaped to arrest the sliding movement of the mold while permitting the ingot to continue its downward movement, for raising said trackway for reinverting the mold and ingot and removing the mold from its position adjacent the anvil, and for returning the mold to its initial position on the mold-receiving platform.

l2. An apparatus for stripping an ingot from a mold, comprising a platform for receiving a mold in upright position, a downwardly sloping traclrway inclined from the vertical at a moldsupporting angle adjacent the platform, a guide means disposed between said mold-receiving platform and the said trackway, means for initially raising one side of said platform to tilt the mold into engagement with the guide means and for thereafter raising the platform and the guide means to invert the mold ontosaidtrackwayto permit it to slide down said trackway, an anvil said means being movable to an upper position disposed at the lower end of said trackway to to invert the mold for downward discharge of associated with the trackway for retaining the 10 face adapted to arrest the mold after downward containing mold in a substantially 'upright posi- 2 mold which surrounds the ingot and which has continued downward travel of the ingot there- ZEBULON W, WHITEHOUSE. through to loosen it from the mold, means posi- OSCAR M SCHULZE` second guideway for limiting the downward 35 References Cited in the file of this patent travel 0f the ngOt therethrough and means fOI UNITED STATES P lifting the lower end of the second guideway together with the ingot limiting means to reinvert Numbel Nam? Date the mold and the loosened ingot and return them 35162; h t' nd ol- "n 1- SILB rs guldeway a m d rem g p at 40 2,457,519 Bemel Dec. 28, 1948 14. An apparatus for stripping an ingot from FOREIGN PATENTS a mold, comprising means for receiving and supporting an ingot-containing mold which is therein deposited in substantially upright position,

Number Country Date 16,904 Great Britain 1896 

